http://mienmagazine.com/salon/ Social graces. Redefined. en Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:39:05 +0000 http://mienmagazine.com/salon/topic/bad-bad-dinner-guests#post-20 Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:04:05 +0000 lipstickstains 20@http://mienmagazine.com/salon/ <p>Dear Prunella</p> <p>Throwing a dinner party these days is like chairing the UN Security Council. It's more trouble than it's worth. Every person you invite seems to have a food issue -- wheat-phobic, dairy-averse, only eats goat. Some people arrive with their own food in containers! Is it rude to suggest that if you go to someone's house you should gratefully eat what's in front of you, or at least quietly push it around your plate until everyone else is finished? Please advise. </p> http://mienmagazine.com/salon/topic/pregnancy-etiquette#post-18 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:06:01 +0000 dcgrrl 18@http://mienmagazine.com/salon/ <p>There are so many faux pas around this miracle! For starters, I have always said it is not for anyone outside the family to ask whether a woman is pregnant.<br /> She could be: </p> <ol> <li>putting on weight,</li> <li>waiting until the baby's health is stable before she announces it,</li> <li>sadly, unhappy about the pregnancy or</li> <li>trying to hide it from the boss for some reason.</li> </ol> <p>These are only a sample of the situations potential mothers may be in when snoopy bystanders/friends expect a gleeful response. So I've always said it's best to remain quiet even when a friend or coworker obviously looks expectant. Still, it's hard to keep my mouth shut when I want to congratulate someone.<br /> Prunella, can you help us out? </p>